Ironer cabinet



April 21, 1942. H. M. RUMBAUGH IRONER CABIN-ET Filed March 28, 1940 Brmentor Y llllilllllrlvlulllulllllillllvll'llull J I (Ittorneg Patented Apr. 21, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE IRONER CABINET Hugh M. Bumbaugh, Pittsburgh, Pa.

Application March 28, 1940, Serial No. 326,423

(Cl. BIZ-22) 9 Claims.

My invention relates to an improved cabinet, and while primarily designed and intended for supporting and housing the ironer mechanism of the mangle type, it will be obvious that the structure may be employed in connection with any other class of apparatus wherein it is found to be applicable.

Important objects and advantages of the invention are to provide a cabinet of the character described, which is conveniently operable for suitably supporting an ironer in the operative position and for housing or enclosing the latter when not in use, which is exceptionally compact and attractive when in the closed position, which is simple in its construction and arrangement, durable and eiiicient in its use, and comparatively economical in its manufacture. To the accomplishment of these and such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the invention resides in the novel construction, combination and arrangement of parts herein specifically described and illustrated in the accompanying drawing, but it is to be understood that the latter is merely illustrative of an embodiment of the nvention, and that changes in the form, proportions and details of construction may be resorted to that come within the scope of the claims hereunto appended.

In the drawing wherein like numerals of reference designate corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a front elevational view of an ironer cabinet constructed in accordance with the invention and in the open position and supporting the embodied ironer mechanism in the operative position.

Figure 2 is a similar 'view thereof with the ironer mechanism in the inoperative or housed position.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of the device the open position.

Figures 4 and 5 are, respectively, top plan and end walls 3 and l, a pair of front wall portions.

5 and 6, a pair of top portions 1 and 8, and a bottom 8. The back wall I, the end wall 3, the

front wall portion 5, the top portion I and the bottom 8 are all permanently and rigidly secured or fixed together and combinedly constitute the stationary section of the cabinet. The front wall portion 5 is comparatively narrow, and the length of the top portion 1 is approximately commensurate to the width of the former.

The end wall I and the front wall portion I are secured together and combinedly provide the shiftable section I ll of the cabinet. The rear vertical edge of the end wall 4 is attached to the vertical edge of the back wall 2 by hinges ll.

When the shiftable section III is in the open position, the end wall 4 thereof extends parallel to the back wall 2, and the front-wall portion 6 is disposed at right angles with respect to said back wall, as clearly illustrated in Figures 1 and 2. When the cabinet is in the closed position, the

free vertical edge of the front wall portion 6' abuts against the vertical free edge of the front wall portion 5, as shown in Figure 5. The front wall portion 6. is of considerable width, whereby when the shiftable section I0 is in the open position, ample knee or leg space is provided for the comfort and convenience of a seated operator.

The top portion 8 is complemental to and pivotally connected to the fixed top portion 1 by means of hinges l2, and when the cabinet is in the closed position the peripheral edges of said top portions 1 and 8 project slightly beyond the outer surfaces of end walls and front wall portions of the structure.

The ironer mechanism l is of any suitable conventional construction and comprises a supporting board or table IS, the ironing roll ll supported and disposed above the table, the operating apparatus l5 suspended from the underside of the table, and control elements It shiftably placed on the floor 9 of the cabinet.

One end of the table [3 is attached to the top portion I by suitable hinges l1, whereby said table together with the ironer mechanism, may be either shifted to the horizontal, operative position, as shown in Figure 1, or the inoperative position at a slight'angle from the vertical, as illustrated in Figure 2. The cabinet space, rearwardly of the narrow fixed front wall portion 5, accommodates and houses the operating apparatus l5 when the ironing mechanism is in the inoperative position.

To position the ironer mechanism l in the operative position, it is of course essential that the shiftable section ill of the cabinet be first moved to the open position. When the ironer mechanism is in the operative position, the free end'oi' the table it rests upon the upper edge of the front wall portion 8, which latter thereby obviously provides the support for the free end of said table when the ironer mechanism is in the operative position.

The table I3 is secured to the operative position by means of a pin it, which is fixed at the underside of said table adjacent to the free end of the latter, and engages in a suitably apertured bracket l9 fixed at the inner side of the front wall 8 adjacent to the upper edge of the latter, as clearly shown in Figure 1.

To secure the, shiftable section In, of the cabi net, in the closed position, the apertured bracket I9 is engaged by a pin 20, which is suitably positioned at the underside of the shiftable top portion 8. When the cabinet is in the open position said top portion rests flatly on the fixed top portion 8 and serves as a convenient platform for supporting parts of garments during ironing operations. I

It will here be noted that by positioning the ironer mechanism I at a slight angle from the vertical when in the inoperative position, the

free end of the table I3. will engage the bottom- 9 of the cabinet, and thereby hold the entire ironer mechanism against free swinging movement onthe hinges I! when housed in the cabinet. Further such angular inoperative posi-- tion of the ironer mechanism allows the use of a cabinet adapted for supporting the ironer mechanism at just the proper height in the manner set forth. 4

To operate the cabinet in positioning the ironer mechanism to the operative position, it is only necessary to release the top portion 8 from its engagement with the bracket N, then swing the shiftable section In of the cabinet to the open position, and then elevate the ironer mechanism l to the horizontal position and engage the pin l8 in the bracket IS.

The present invention provides a most efiicient device of its kind, which is compact and susceptible of attractive and artistic constructions, and which is conveniently operable for both supporting and housing an ironer mechanism of any conventional construction.

What I claim is:

1. A cabinet of the character described comprising the combination of 'a fixed back wall, a fixed end wall, 'a comparatively narrow fixed front wall portion, a comparatively short fixed top portion, a fixed bottom, a shiftable top portion of considerable length hingedly connected to said fixed top portion, a shiftable end wall, a shiftable front wall portion of considerable width carried by said shiftable end wall and in conjunction with the latter providing a shiftable section of the cabinet, said section being hingedly connected with said back wall and shiftable for opening and closing the cabinet, and an ironing apparatus including a supporting table, said table having one end thereof pivotally connected with said fixed top portion.

2. A cabinet of the character described comprising the combinatin of a fixed back wall, a fixed end wall, a comparatively narrow fixed front wall portion, a comparatively short fixed top portion, a fixed bottom, a shiftable top portion of considerable length hingedly connected to said fixed top portion, a shiftable end wall, a shiftable front wall of considerable width carried by said shiftable end wall and in conjunction with the latter providing a shiftable section, said section being hingedly connected to said ment carried by said section, means carried by said table and engaging said-element for securing said section in the open position, and means carried by said shiftable top portion and engaging said element for securing said section in the closed position.

3. The combination with an ironer cabinet comprising a relatively fixed assemblage having a vertically extending space for receiving an ironer when in inoperative position, and a movable section pivotally connected with the fixed assemblage and having a portion constituting a front of the cabinet when the latter is closed and a support for the ironer when in operative position, of an ironing machine including a supporting base, and means hingedly connecting one end of the base with the upper portion of the fixed assemblage whereby the ironer may be directly moved from the space to a horizontal operative position by a single arc movement and further directly moved from the operative position into said space by a single arc movement.

4. The combination with an ironer cabinet comprising a relatively fixed assemblage having a vertically extending space for receiving an ironer when in inoperative position, and a movable section pivotally connected with the fixed assemblage and having a portion for closing the front of the cabinet and constituting a support for the ironer when in operative position, of an ironing machine including a supporting base, and means hingedly connecting one end of the base with the upper portion of the fixed assemblage whereby the ironer may be directly moved from the space to a horizontal operative position by a single arc movement and further directly moved from the operative position into said space by a single arc movement, said fixed assemblage including a back wall, an end wall, a front wall portion and a top portion and said movable section including end and front wall portions.

5. The combination with an ironer cabinet comprising a relatively fixed assemblage having a vertically extending space for receiving an ironer when in inoperative position,- and a movable section pivotally connected with the fixed assemblage and constituting a support for the ironer when in operative position, of an ironing machine including a supporting base, and means hingedly connecting one end of the base with the upper portion of the fixed assemblage whereby the ironer may be moved from the space to a horizontal operative position by a single arc movement and further moved from the operative hinge connection whereby the ironing machine may be directly moved from a depending inoperative position within the cabinet to a horizontal operative position by a single arc movement, and further, directly moved from the horizontal operative position to its inoperative position within the cabinet by a single arc movement and a movable section on the cabinet having a portion normally forming a front wall of the cabinet and a support for said base when the latter is horizontal.

7. In combination, a cabinet section, an ironing machine adapted to depend within the space of said section, said machine adjacent one of its ends and the top of said section and at a distance from one end of said section being movably mounted on the latter to enable the machine to be selectively housed within the section or disposed approximately horizontally at an elevation which enables operation by a seated operator, and a cabinet section movable on a vertical axis located at the back of and adjacent one end of the first section, said movable cabinet section including a wall to cover said one end and a portion of the front of the first section, said machine being of a length which extends beyond said one end when approximately horizontally disposed, and said wall being disposable in open position beneath the machine adjacent its other end for the dual purpose of supporting the machine at said other end and providing space at the front of the cabinet to accommodate the knees of the seated operator.

8. In combination, a cabinet, an ironing machine housed therein, said cabinet being in first and second sections, said first section being mounted for movement relative to the second section to enable the ironing machine to be moved to an extended position, means whereby the ironing machine is mounted adjacent one end on the second section, the first section including a portion normally disposed across the front of the cabinet and disposable in open position beneath the said ironing machine and in supporting relation to the latter. v

9. In combination, a cabinet, said cabinet having an upright section provided with a relatively narrow front wall and a relatively wide rear wall extending inwardly beyond the front wail, an ironing machine housed in the cabinet and mounted adjacent the top of said section close to the inner edge of said relatively narrow front wall for movement to an approximately horizontal position, and another section mounted on said cabinet for movement to and from closed position on an axis at a location on said rear wall inwardly beyond the relatively narrow front wall, said second section including a wall selectively disposable at the front of the first mentioned section and beneath the ironing machine when the latter is approximately horizontally disposed.

HUGH M. RUMBAUGH. 

